


Home Isn't A Place, It's A Feeling

by Anonymous



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Angst, Ben is a marine, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Rey is a mechanic, love is complicated for these two idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23721586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: She made her way down the large, open hallway and reached for the handle, expecting an older man with white hair and a gruff look in his eyes. Instead she was met with a familiar figure that stood awkwardly on the porch. She stood there dumbfounded, still holding the door slightly ajar and mustering all her will to keep her tears at bay.He was here.Ben Solo had faced hell and all its demons and came back. Alive.“You’re here,” she whispered.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18
Collections: Anonymous





	1. May 2018

“When one person is missing the whole world seems empty.” – Pat Schweibert

x

Rey parked up a block away from Leia Organa’s house. Her beaten up silver Honda Civic looking far too shabby in comparison to the neighbourhood’s range of Porsches and Lamborghinis. She got out quickly and locked it. She wondered if she even needed to bother – no one in a mile radius would want to steal her car.

She walked slowly, taking in the warmth of the morning sunshine. It had been a while since she last felt like herself again, visiting Leia the last few months had greatly helped. She thought it would make things worse. Well, worse than they had already been. But Finn, her best friend since high school, had persuaded (threatened) her to drop by and continued to do so on her own accord.

Rey had been alone her whole life, orphaned at a young age and fostered by an abusive man until she was able to escape. So, to put it simply: she despised loneliness. And the past year had suffocated her with the sight of the empty side of her bed.

She hopped up the steps of the porch and rang the doorbell. A dog barked inside.

“Mistress – Uh, Rey.” Threepio corrected himself cheerfully as he took her coat. “You’ve arrived just in time. Senator Organa and Master Solo are in the garden.”

Rey smiled. “Thank you Threepio.”

Chewie, the German Shepherd, bounded towards her happily. She petted him on the head and followed him as he led her towards the spacious garden. She walked out onto the patio cautiously when she saw Han and Leia talking in low voices. But she could tell from their postures that it was not going well.

Han caught sight of her which caused Leia to turn around. Her soured expression brightened immediately as she took off her dirtied gardening gloves to embrace her.

“Rey!”

She was enveloped into a tight hug. “Hi Leia, Han.”

“Hey kid,” Han greeted.

When they separated, Han shifted his weight between his feet.

“Well I guess I’d better get going.”

Leia looked at him, as if to say that their conversation wasn’t over. And Han simply nodded before he made his way back into the house. The tension in the air hadn’t dispersed yet but when he left, she could see Leia’s shoulders relax.

Rey bit the inside of her cheek. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Leia waved the tension away. “Just the side effects of a long marriage.”

She nodded, dropping the subject. Her eyes fell to the gloves. “You’re gardening?”

The corner of Leia’s lips tugged into a smile. “I’ve missed it. I haven’t ever since…” She glanced at Rey sadly. “Well, you know.”

The ring on her necklace beneath her white shirt burned against her skin. Her skin itched at the mention of the subject and anxiety swelled within her. She reached up unconsciously, her fingers wrapping around the warm metal comfortingly.

“I’m glad,” Rey said finally with a small smile. “It’s nice to have some normalcy.”

“It is.”

Threepio came out of the house with a large tray. On it, a smattering of pastries and fruit accompanied with a large jug of orange juice. He set it down on the table and began placing polished cutlery beside the china.

“Come on, I don’t want to keep you hungry.”

Just as the words left her mouth, Rey’s stomach grumbled in response. They both laughed and walked over, seating themselves as Threepio served them. Though Rey served herself as much as she could, the feeling of being served was still such a foreign concept despite how long she had known the Solos.

“So, how have you been?” Leia asked.

“I’ve been… Good. Great, in fact. Spending time with you has helped, a lot.”

Leia smiled warmly, reaching over to place her hand over hers soothingly. “I was just about to say the same thing.”

If she knew how much this would have meant to her, she wouldn’t have avoided her for those first five months. Rey held her gaze, feeling a wave of guilt wash through her.

“I’m sorry.”

Her expression turned into a frown. “What for?”

“For taking so long to show up.” Rey stared down at her lap shamefully. “Those months were harder for you than for me, especially after…” Her throat seemed to close up at the very thought of it, but she persisted. “After the incident and I – I left you and Han to deal with it on your own.”

“Rey, look at me.” When she refused, Leia squeezed her hand and Rey looked up. “There’s nothing to apologize for. We all needed space, besides, all that matters is that you’re here now.”

She felt a lump growing in her throat as she blinked back tears. She nodded dumbly with a watery smile.

“Thank you.”

The doorbell shrilled. Chewie barked.

“It must be Han,” Leia’s muttered to herself. “Always forgetting his damn glasses.”

Threepio started to move from pouring the orange juice and headed towards the door but Rey shook her head and waved him down.

“It’s okay, I’ll get it.”

She made her way down the large, open hallway and reached for the handle, expecting an older man with white hair and a gruff look in his eyes. Instead she was met with a familiar figure that stood awkwardly on the porch. She stood there dumbfounded, still holding the door slightly ajar and mustering all her will to keep her tears at bay.

He was here.

Ben Solo had faced hell and all its demons and came back. Alive.

“You’re here,” she whispered.


	2. December 2015

“We met for a reason, either you’re a blessing or a lesson.” – Frank Ocean

X

She looked down from her phone to see a large dog, a German shepherd, sitting patiently beside her. Its leash was still hooked on the collar and trailed behind miserably. It looked up at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to do something.

“Oh, hi. Are you lost?”

The dog continued to stare at her.

She scanned the area looking for an owner but there was barely anybody around. She turned back down to the dog, her eye catching the glint of a tag.

“Let’s see who you are, maybe then we can get you home.”

She crouched beside the dog, taking the cool metal between her fingers to see the inscription clearly.

“Chewbacca.”

He barked loudly at her before jumping up onto her knees. She almost fell back but managed to find her balance before she removed his paws gently off of her. The imprint of them still remained so she swept the dirt off of her thrifted joggers.

She had just finished up her evening jog and was trying to find the easiest route back – her mind had wandered, and she had no clue where she was. She glanced at her watch. It was getting pretty late.

“Let’s see if there’s a phone number.”

She turned the tag but saw no number or address. She hummed in annoyance. This made things slightly more difficult.

“I hope you’re microchipped buddy.”

He only looked up at her, his head tilting to the side questioningly. To which she smiled, petting him again before taking up his leash.

She found the address of the nearest vet and started heading towards it, following the directions from her phone. Chewbacca trotted alongside her as she jogged, as if knowing she would lead him back to his owner.

When they finally reached the place, Rey had worked up a sweat. She entered, seeing a small waiting room with a few people and their dogs and walked up to reception. A petit blonde woman smiled at her.

“Hi, how can I help?”

“Hi, I found this dog out on the street. I’m hoping he has a microchip.”

She stood up to peer down at Chewbacca with a sad look. “Oh, you poor thing. Let me just fit you in. What’s the name?”

“Chewbacca.”

He barked again.

She tapped away at the keyboard with her long nails. After a couple minutes she looked back up and pointed towards the waiting area. “Okay if you wait over there, the vet will come and bring you in.”

“Thank you.”

Rey went and sat down. Chewbacca sat beside her feet patiently.

About half an hour later, Chewbacca was taken in to be checked. It only took a few minutes for the vet to come back out and hand the leash back to her.

“There’s no microchip,” she said disappointedly. “I’d recommend finding a shelter and putting word out about him. I’m sure his owners will turn up somehow.”

“Okay, I think I’ll do that. Thank you.”

“No problem. Good luck,” she smiled.

Rey nodded and set off, holding Chewbacca’s leash with a tight grip.

What on earth was she going to do? Her landlord had a strict no pets policy and Finn was allergic. She decided to phone Finn anyways.

“Hey peanut.” His voice was amongst the sound of cars and street chatter.

“Hey, so I was on my jog and this dog found me. It has no phone number on the tag and no chip. The vet said to find a shelter but – ”

“But you’ve fallen in love.”

“I just want to make sure he gets home safe,” Rey lied.

“So, are you gonna keep it?”

“Well, I can’t. No pets policy remember?” Rey sighed. “I know you have an allergy, and I don’t know anyone else to ask so maybe you could ask Rose? I know you two have just started your relationship, but she sounds nice enough to take care of him…”

There was silence on the other end, and she looked at her phone to see if they were still connected. They were.

“Finn?”

“Uh Rey?”

“Yeah?”

“Is he a German shepherd called Chewbacca?”

“Yeah,” she said nonchalantly before it hit her. “Wait… How did you know?” She looked around, wondering if Finn could see her.

“There’s a missing poster for him. Here, let me send it to you.” There was a pause as he messaged her, and her phone dinged once he had sent it. “Got it?”

She looked at her phone, the poster was a photo of Chewbacca with a black chew toy in his mouth. Beneath it was a contact number and a reward for two hundred dollars.

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Well, I hope the owner’s hot.” And then under his breath he muttered, “For your sake.”

“Hey!”

“Oh, come on. You haven’t gone out on a date in ages.”

She sighed frustratedly. “I’m calling the owner to return their missing dog not to fuck them.”

“Two birds, one stone.”

She rolled her eyes. “Alright, I’m hanging up on you.”

“Tell me if he’s hot!” Finn shouted before she cut the line.

She looked down at Chewbacca who seemed to be confused at her frustration.

“He means well,” she explained.

She quickly dialled the number that was on the poster. It rang once before someone picked it up.

“Organa residence,” the English voice said spritely. “How can I be of assistance?”

“Erm hi, I found your dog… Chewbacca?”

He barked.

“Oh, how delightful!” There was a shuffle. “Could I ask you to describe the back of his front right leg?”

Rey frowned at the request, but she knelt down and took up Chewbacca’s paw and looked behind it. A thin pink line that protruded from his fur.

“There’s a scar.”

“Everyone will be so pleased!” He said with enthusiasm. “If you could write down the following address…”

Rey quickly jotted down the address into maps and realised that it was taking her to the richer part of the neighbourhood. It wasn’t far from the mechanic store she worked at, Solo’s Mechanics.

It took almost an hour of jogging before she finally reached the porch of the Organa residence. She leaned over, clutching her knees for breath, wishing she had brought her damn bike. Rey swiped a hand over her forehead before climbing up the clean white steps and ringing the doorbell.

The door opened immediately, and she realised she had caught them just as they were leaving.

The man was tall, black-haired and had a dark expression on his face. He couldn’t have been more than five years older than her. And despite his moodiness, he was… Well, he was hot. He was dressed far too simply with his black shirt and dark wash jeans and a silver chain around his neck that was tucked beneath his shirt, and it didn’t fit into her idea of what she thought people wore in this neighbourhood. He didn’t seem to care as he looked her up and down.

“Are you lost?” He growled.

She stuttered at the man, seeing his scowl deepen as she wasted his time. His hotness slipping away as he continued to snap at her.

“Deaf too?”

“No, I, uh…”

He sighed, reaching into his back pocket and pressed a fifty-dollar bill into her hand. “Go get yourself something to eat. And fuck off.” He brushed past her and stalked off.

She looked down at the bill, surprise and disgust etching into her face. Did he think she was homeless? What the… Who the fuck did this guy think he was?

Rey gritted her teeth and turned around. “Oi dickhead!”

His eyes locked with hers, something of surprise in them.

She raised her middle finger at him.

She was expecting him to swear at her again, but instead his expression twisted into a slight smirk as he unlocked his sleek black Mercedes and got in. The tires screeched against the tarmac as the engine roared, speeding away.

“I see you’ve met my son.”

Rey turned a head sharply back to the doorway, recognising the voice immediately.

Han Solo. Her boss. She had sworn at her boss’ son. Holy shit. He was going to absolutely fire her. Then she’d have to go through the misery of doing crappy jobs that paid as little as she cared.

Her eyes were wide, and she stumbled over her words. “Mr. Solo, I’m – I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I – I thought this was the Organa residence?”

“Leia Organa, my wife. And don’t worry I’m not gonna fire you,” the old man reassured. “He’s an asshole. What was the word you used? Dickhead?”

Rey loosed a breath, but she was still as tense.

“I’m gonna use that one next time.” He chuckled to himself. Then he looked at her, curiosity taking over his features. “What brings you here, Rey?”

She pulled up the leash limply, extending it towards him. “Chewbacca?”

He barked from out of view.

“Chewie!”

The dog ran from beside Rey’s feet and towards Han.

Han’s face became younger as a genuine smile took over. He knelt down as the dog licked his face and he wound his arms around the dog. He cupped his hands around Chewie’s face.

“It’s good to have you home.”

He licked Han’s nose in agreement.

Han stood up, looking to Rey with gratitude. “Thanks kid.”

She nodded and started to walk off.

“Wait, don’t you want the reward?”

She looked back, showing him the bill in her hand. Her voice sounding grouchy as she replied, “Your son already paid me.”

“I owe you a hundred and fifty more.”

She shook her head, waving her hand to refuse his offer. “It’s no problem, really.”

“Well, Leia would kill me if I didn’t invite you for dinner.”

“I…” She trailed off but realised that she was pretty hungry. It would be rude to refuse food and she could smell something delicious cooking inside. “Okay.”

He gave a small smile and let her in.

X

They were laughing around the dinner table in the dining room, two hours later. At first, she had fidgeted in her underdressed, slightly sweaty state but she adjusted as soon as she started to eat. She couldn’t focus on anything else other than mouth-wateringly good food that was set out for her to choose from.

Rey had found out Leia was a Senator but had retired a few years back due to her health but was now spending her time doing whatever she liked. They had a dog named Chewbacca, who preferred Chewie and a butler named Threepio. Han seemed to enjoy listening, though he perked up as soon as she started discussing how she got into mechanics. They talked about anything and everything. Though she noticed how they danced around the topic of their son, who she found out was called Ben.

She found herself chatting away, feeling something oddly comforting in the warmth of the large house. But it felt right. Like this was what she had dreamt about when she thought of her parents. A belly filled with fresh home-cooked food and smiles and laughter. Not what she had endured from her adoptive father, Plutt.

Her eyes glanced at the window, seeing the sky had turned an inky black. She glanced down at her watch and realised that she should probably get going. But she didn’t want to leave without being able to return the favour. All she had done was return their dog as any decent human being would do. But they had given her something she would forever cherish in her memories, even if it was for one evening.

She gave a genuine smile to Leia and Han. “Thank you so much. The food was delicious, and the company was even better.”

“We were glad to have you Rey.”

“You can come over whenever, kid. If you like,” Han added.

Rey nodded after a pause, her smile widening. “I’d like that.”

“Would you like Han to give you a ride home?”

“Thank you but it’s alright. I don’t live too far,” she lied. She didn’t want to be more of a nuisance.

Rey got up from her chair and expertly stacked the dishes and cutlery. She had been a waitress during high school, apparently she had to pay for her place in Plutt’s (her adoptive father) apartment.

“Oh, you don’t have to clean up dear. Threepio can do it.”

Rey blushed but shook her head politely. “I can help, it’s the least I could do.”

Leia looked slightly taken back by her willingness to help out. “You’re a guest here, you don’t have to.”

“It’s no problem really,” Rey called out as she carried the stack of dishes and cutlery out of the dining room.

She walked into the room she assumed was the kitchen but was actually the living room. She kept going, ending up in a lounge area and then walking back out and finding herself in a large library-like room.

“Bloody hell,” she muttered to herself.

“Lost?”

She whipped around, almost jumping out of her skin when she saw the tall figure behind her. The cutlery scrapped against the plates and almost fell but she managed to keep them up. Ben. She hadn’t even heard him enter the house.

He rolled his eyes at her reaction, his tone exceptionally bored as he walked out. “Follow me.”

She blinked several times before she realised that she should probably keep up with him if she wanted to actually get these dishes in the kitchen. He wasn’t hard to follow, considering how tall he was and how much his dark clothes contrasted with the spotlessly white corridors. He walked oddly, his posture too straight and his legs rigid. The air around him, it was cold and dark despite the ‘friendly’ mood he seemed to be in.

When they reached the kitchen, she set down the dishes besides the sink. She felt hyperaware of her movements as Ben casually leaned beside the counter perpendicular to her, taking up an apple from the fruit bowl and biting into it with a loud crunch. His eyes bore into her as she put the dishes into the sink and began to wash them.

She was halfway through cleaning up, only the crunch of an apple breaking the silence.

“What are you doing?” He asked curiously.

She turned to look at him, her confused expression mirroring his as she showed him the soapy half-cleaned dish. “Uh, cleaning?”

He bit into the apple, looking at her as if she was absurd. “There’s a dishwasher to your left.”

She felt herself grow hot, her eyes looking to her left to see that there was a dishwasher there. She didn’t realise – she should’ve have considering the mansion she was standing in, but she was so used to doing her own dishes that she didn’t even think to look for a dishwasher. And the asshole had waited this long to tell her.

She looked confounded staring at the dishwasher.

“You don’t know how to use a dishwasher?” His voice piped again, sounding as douchey as ever.

“No.”

He tossed the finished apple into the trash.

“And I thought I was useless.”

Her eyes found his sharply. She resisted stabbing him with one of the knives or gouging his eyes out with a spoon, instead giving him a look that usually made people cower. But he stared right through it, even raising an eyebrow at her reaction.

She unclenched her jaw and turned back to washing. But she felt warm, large hands tug the dish from her own. Her eyes caught the metal ring with a black stone on his middle finger, though it was simple she had no doubt that it cost more than her entire apartment building. The act alone was enough to make her feel flustered despite her hate, but when his thumb brushed hers, she felt herself flush red. He stacked them with the others, collected the cutlery and then sidestepped around her to place them neatly into the dishwasher.

Ben took up a towel and offered it to her. She took it begrudgingly.

“I was kidding,” he offered in a warmer tone. “I didn’t mean offence.”

She felt sarcasm drip into her voice. “Is that an apology for when you insinuated I was useless or when you insinuated I was homeless?”

His lips tugged into a smile, his eyes looking down at her joggers. As if the look alone was enough to answer her question.

She threw the towel at him and he caught it easily, drying his hands. She huffed, shooting him a glare.

“You’re an asshole.”

He shrugged. “Yeah.”

Rey shook her head at him and turned on her heel, leaving the kitchen.

“I didn’t get your name,” he called from behind her.

“That was intentional.” She turned on her heel, giving him a dramatic shrug as she walked backwards. “I just don’t associate with pricks like you.”

The corners of his mouth tilted into a smile. The sight of it made her breath hitch. And when he was unable to hold it back, a low chuckle filtered from the kitchen, leaving her feeling warm and a part of her wanted to make him laugh again.

Damn it. What the hell was she thinking? Damn him and his gorgeous smile. And goddamn it, Finn was right.

Ben Solo was hot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's rough I know but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.


	3. December 2015

“The moment we say goodbye I think about the next time I will see you again.” – Unknown

X

Rey had spent most of the day fixing up another customer’s transmission before handing it off to Lando to start replacing the exhaust system. He was the more qualified mechanic in the shop, while Rey had taught herself in Plutt’s junkyard of scrapped cars. Though he would regularly tell her how surprised he was at how knowledgeable she was despite her lack of formal training, which always made her blush.

“Kid,” Han called.

“Yeah?”

“You, uh, got plans on the twenty-fourth?”

Rey peered confusedly down to see Han waiting beside the car. She rolled out under the car on the creeper and looked up at him.

“No, I don’t.” Her voice was full of curiosity.

She usually spent Christmas with Finn and his family on the twenty-fifth since he was the only real family she had ever had.

“Leia wants you over for the Christmas party.”

Rey was hesitant. “Oh, that’s very kind but…”

Han looked at her pleading, tired eyes. “She said she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Rey was very appreciative of their offer, though she was unsure why Leia would be so insistent on her being there. She wasn’t anyone to them.

“I… Uh, thank you. I’ll be there.”

“Seven thirty.” He nodded stiffly before walking off.

Rey was still thinking about the party while she spent the rest of her day doing oil and tire changes. She was sweaty and tired from the impatient and not to mention rude customers that came in. It seemed like with the more money these people earned, the more manners they managed to forget. But her head was spinning from the little information Han had given for the party.

Was it a casual party? No, this seemed like a formal thing. So what should she wear? What should she bring – maybe a simple bottle of wine? And what about presents? Did people bring individual presents at big Christmas parties? Was it a big party?

This was going to keep her up all night.

She had just finished topping it off with the new oil after draining it and changing the filter when she heard a low thrum of a car pulling into the shop. She checked the level of the car she was working on. It was perfect, as usual. She closed the hood of the car and sat down on a chair, loosing a sigh and cleaning her hands on the dirty rag she kept with her.

She grabbed the water bottle and took a long sip before smoothing back the flyaways and re-tying her hair back when she heard someone get out of the car that had pulled in. Rey got up and walked towards them while staring at her broken watch.

She could squeeze in one last customer.

“Hey there.” The customer said, his voice deep.

“Hi,” she said in fake cheery tone, rubbing her eyes.

She took two more steps before stopping in her tracks. She slowly looked up from her hand, her eyes landing on the tall, dark-clad figure leaning against the familiar Mercedes. He was dressed in a black sweater and jeans, that same silver chain tucked away. Even though she knew how much of a horrible attitude he had, he still looked good.

She hated how nervous she felt wearing her dirtied navy oversized overalls. She shouldn’t have but it had been a week since she saw him last and it seemed their meetings would coincide when she looked… Not at her best. She shifted the weight between her feet and stood up straighter as she looked over him.

“You.”

Ben smirked. “Me.”

“What are you doing here?”

He shrugged, before sarcastically replying. “Thought I’d drop by, give the old man a visit.”

“In all the months I’ve been here, you’ve never dropped by,” she retorted.

He rolled his eyes, looking more like an asshole than usual. “If you think I’m here because you sweetheart, you’re wrong.”

She wanted to strangle him with the rag.

“I need a new tire.”

He stepped out of the way and dramatically pointed her towards the punctured tire. There was a long slash across it and the tire was half deflated.

She looked over at him with a raised brow. “Who did you piss off?”

“A girl.”

“Well hallelujah, she’s realised what an asshole you are,” she muttered.

Rey froze, blushing furiously at her words, realising how harsh they were out loud. She looked up at him, apologies at the ready to spill but he was staring at her. A smirk tugging the corner of his lips before it melted into a low chuckle.

“I’m sorry,” she said after a moment, still red. “That was really rude.”

He shook his head, a playful look in his eyes. “Any other situation you’d be right, but this one’s more complicated than that.”

Curiosity built up inside her, but she kept quiet. When the silence stretched into awkward territory, she remembered that he was technically a customer and she was still on the clock.

Rey walked around, looking over the car. It was pretty damn sleek and spotless, and she could still remember the hum of the engine on the night they had first met. She walked around the back.

“Nice spoiler.” She walked back around to the front and gestured to the hood. “May I?”

“Sure.”

He popped the hood.

She looked over it with wide eyes. She’d had her fair share of looking into the more expensive cars, but rarely did she get to work on them. She needed a little more experience before Han would let her tinker with them. And Ben’s Mercedes-Benz A-hundred-eighty was stunning.

He noticed her cheery mood. “You like it?”

“Yeah… Four cylinders, one point five litre capacity and a turbocharged diesel engine. This is awesome.” She looked to him. “How quick?”

“Sixty in eleven.”

“Damn.” She closed the hood of the car with a smile. “Guess you’re stuck with me for a while.”

Rey got to work. She brought over a replacement tire, a jack and lug wrench. She started with loosening the bolts before raising the bar and then removing them completely. She was rolling the tire towards the car and about to swap it with the deflated one when Ben, who was silently watching, spoke up.

“So is this all you do here?”

“Usually. When there’s not many customers I work on the dead cars in the back.”

“Got any to run?”

She swapped the tire and refit all the bolts as she answered his question.

“Not yet. I’m actually working on this sixty-seven Chevy Impala.” She twisted the lug wrench. “It’s old and pretty much garbage, but it has character.”

He looked at her incredulously. “The Falcon’s still back there?”

“Is that what it’s called?” She snorted at the name and returned to lowering the jack. “Anyway, it needs a new carburetor and intake.”

“Can’t you just get one?”

She shrugged as she started to tighten the bolts.

“It would cost me two month’s rent. Besides it would cost more to fix than to sell.”

She stood up, dusting her hands when she finished. Turning to Ben, who had an expressionless look on his face.

“All done.”

“Thanks.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

Rey shook her head and raised her hand. “You’re family. It’s on the house.”

He furrowed his brows. “You don’t want a tip?”

“It’s okay, really.”

He shrugged and put it away. He extended a hand towards her and she shook it easily. She tried to not think about how large his hands were and how they engulfed hers.

He grinned. “You still not gonna tell me your name?”

“I don’t think we’re going to see each other enough to be on a first name basis.”

He feigned pain. “That’s unfortunate. I was hoping I’d see you around again.”

Rey rolled her eyes at his attempt at flirting. “Well, you know where to find me.”

He nodded and with one last smile, he got into his car and started the engine. Rey cleaned up her hands and started to walk away.

“See you around Johnson.”

She turned and gave him a goodbye salute.

It wasn’t until she was on her bike ride home that she realised that he had known her last name.

Goddamn those nametags on those goddamn overalls.


End file.
